Robin Massee, an American who grew up in France, has made significant contributions to French-American relations in her various roles in New York, including: Vice President of External Affairs at the French Institute-Alliance Française, Director of Communications for French Tourism and Director of Public Relations for the French Cultural Services.
She has coordinated the official visits of two French Ministers of Culture (Jack Lang and François Léotard). She oversaw France Salutes New York, a ten-day performing arts festival at Lincoln Center, and acted as liaison for Liberty Weekend, the Statue of Liberty centennial celebration. She has been responsible for the largest Bastille Day festival in Manhattan, attracting over 15,000 New Yorkers every year.
Ms. Massee has provided leadership in the areas of tourism and French-American relations. In the exceptional spring of 2003, Ms. Massee was instrumental in creating the “Let’s Fall in Love Again” campaign and a video featuring Woody Allen, Wynton Marsalis, George Plimpton, and others, to restore American travel to France. In 2004, she created “Operation Open Arms” to commemorate the 60th anniversary of D-Day with testimonials from American veterans who landed on June 6, 1944 and from Norman French eyewitnesses.
Since founding Massee Productions, a communications and film production company, Ms. Massee’s commitment to both cultures has been at the core of her work. She directed A Hero’s Welcome–A Story of Friendship, Gratitude and Remembrance, showcasing the impact of D-Day on the French- American relationship.
She is currently producing Angels in our Midst: WWII Women Veterans in France to capture the voices of the American women, mainly nurses, who were in France during the war. She is also developing a television series for the U.S. market, French Encounters: On the Road with Robin Massee & Friends, about the gastronomic and art-de-vivre pleasures of France.
In 2005, the French Government named Ms. Massee Chevalier dans l’Ordre National du Mérite. Her life’s work, which has bridged these two cultures, embodies the best of both.